Mom, I just want to smell the candy

All three of my children were given candy bags to take home with them from Bible school, you know the ones where they can not possibly eat all the goodies in a week let alone a day. My three year old, Trenton wakes up each morning asking if he can have something out of that bag for breakfast. Of course like every good mom, I tell him not for breakfast, maybe later. It was on one of these days shortly after this conversation that I came back into the kitchen and found him standing on a chair, with the bag of candy in his hands. Realizing he had been caught, he turned to me and said, "Mommy, I am not going to eat any candy, I just want to smell it." He then puts the bag to his nose and sniffs. He then says, "Oh, Mommy this candy smells good." I just had to laugh at this point.
I started to think about our Christian walk and how many times I get into further trouble because my first thought was only to get close enough to "smell the candy".
I get close enough to my temptation to smell it and then find it in my hands unable to resist indulging myself further. The Bible says to flee temptation, in other words, to run away (as fast as you can, no looking back). The Bible also says to make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its desires or longings. I do not believe that Trent's sole intention of holding that bag was to smell the candy. Do you? Maybe our intentions are not pure either, even if we try to convince ourselves that they are. It is sort of like going to look at the dessert table, but having no real intentions to fill a plate. Ask God to show you today the temptations that are in your life that lead you into further wanting of something and ask him to help you run away from them, no looking back.

Romans 13:14 - "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."
Galatians 5:16 - " I say then: Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

Hey everyone, sorry it has been a while. The family is finally moved to Florida. Kids are enrolled in school, and life is settling down to as normal as we are going to get for now. Please pray God leads us to a Church to minister to soon. He is an awesome God and we are believing him for BIG things to come. Thanks

Crazy Mornings and My Unbridled Tongue

Another day, another morning, my job is to get everyone out the door and myself to work on time. Why does this period of time have to be such a struggle for me? This morning was no exception. My son, the youngest refused to get dressed. I am only half-dressed when my oldest daughter tries to take her 1-year old puppy outside to do his business. He of course, weighs more than her and takes off chasing after another neighborhood dog. I then implore my middle child to take a handful of dog food outside and help her sister get the dog inside,she proceeds to take her sweet time in doing this. By then the dog has run up the street and out of sight. Mind you, I am still half-dressed and trying to blow dry my hair, when I have to throw clothes on to make sure the kids do not disappear also. I decide we will let the dog be for now and hope he returns before we must leave. So I rally everyone inside and begin to do my hair again, when my oldest comes into the bathroom to enquire whether we are going after the dog or not. By now I am totally frustrated, so I reply "No! We are going to move from here soon and we can not take him with us so I hope he gets lost!" She turned around with a look of defeat and left the room. That is when God got me, with the thought: What if I reacted like this in anger to you over something out of your control? My words need to speak love and life to others. We did find the dog and apologies were offered, but I still wish I would have responded to her in a different way.

I Corinthians 13: 4,5 "Charity suffereth long, and is kind, charity envieth not, charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil."

Romans 5:5 "...because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

To know Him is to Love Him

Remember the story in Matthew that Jesus told about the master who gave his servants the talents. He gave the first servant five talents, the second two talents and the third servant one talent. The master went away for awhile and then returned. When he called the servants back to him, the servant who began with five had gained five more, the servant with two added two more, but the servant who received the one talent went and hid it in the ground. He had no gain to speak of.
This last servant used the excuse that his master was a harsh man and proceeded to bury his money in fear. I look at these verses and wonder how much this servant actually knew the master or perhaps he just did not truly understand what was being asked of him. I also think about how many times we do not do anything for God out of fear that it might not be good enough or we may possibly fail.
The good news is we can know our God intimately. We do not have to wonder what he wants us to do. He does not want us to serve him out of fear, but of love. If we are approaching our God on a regular basis to get to know him, this fear of him being a harsh God, who is just waiting for us to fail so he can punish us, will go away. To know him is to love him. Our God loves a broken and willing heart, one that desires to be obedient in using our talents to please him.
Is there something God is leading you to do but you have been afraid to step out?
Get to know him more and the desire to please him will out weigh your spirit of fear.
Matt. 25:14-30: The parable of the Talents
II Timothy 1:6,7- "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Words of Encouragement

This week God has been showing me how important it is to use my words wisely. Have you ever noticed when God wants to get your attention about something in your life, that particular topic shows up everywhere? So this week, I have heard a devotional on the radio, read an email devotional and been exposed to this topic of how powerful our words can be (good or bad) in my daily Bible study. "Okay, Lord, I get the picture, somethings got to change!" Our words can be a great encouragement to others. Meditate on these verses with me and ask God to show you some ways to put them in practice today.

Proverbs 25:11- "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver."
Proverbs 15:23- "A man hath joy by the answers of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season: how good it is."
Isaiah 50:4- "The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary."

God has placed beautiful words of encouragement in you, don't miss his blessing, give them away today!

The Smelly Cattle Truck

One day this past week my girls and I were traveling down the interstate in our car, when we all began to smell this horrid smell. My oldest immediately brought her hand to her mouth and nose and said, "Yuck! What is that smell?" I began to look around for the source because by this time I am trying not to gag myself. It did not take me long to identify the cause of this bad odor. It was a cattle trailer, you know the ones that have holes down the side that transport live animals from here to there. I quickly moved to the other lane in hopes of passing the truck and putting this whole smelly situation behind us. Ironically (God ordained), later on this week in my Bible study I read 2 Corinthians 2:14, which states that through us the fragrance of our knowledge of Christ is diffused in every place. My mind went directly to that livestock truck where a fragrance was definitely being diffused in every place. It made me stop and think about my relationships with others on a day to day basis. Am I leaving a pleasant "smell" behind? One that directs them to my knowledge of Christ or do I leave everyone in my wake wishing they would never have to deal with me again? The only way to change how we react to circumstances and people is to be exposed to God's Word, which can remove our old stinky, smelly sinful nature and cleanse us from the inside out. It is in this daily transformation of dying to self that I can become a diffuser to others of the intimate knowledge I have of Christ. My friend, open up His Word today and decide to spread around a sweet smell to others so they can see Christ more fully through you. Oh, and one last thing avoid the cattle trucks!!!
2 Corinthians 2:14,15 - "Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?

Fiery Furnace

Have you ever had one of those days? Weeks? Years? Unfortunately, I am afraid if you are breathing you know what I am talking about. A time when God has put you through a period of testing in order to help you grow more like Him. Recently, I have been living one of these maturing times in my own life. To be real honest, there are days that I just do not know how much more I can take, but I am finding comfort and strength in the Old Testament story of the three friends of Daniel: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were thrown into the fiery furance because of their stand for God. Their faith led them to tell the King that if this was their punishment that God could still deliver them if he choose. This statement enraged the King enough so that he set the furnace seven times hotter than ever before. They refused to bow down and were thrown into the furnace completely clothed with hats, coats and socks. Jesus showed up in the furnace with them and when they were taken out, they were victorious. They had been through the fire. The heat was hot and intense but they did survive. God did not get them through by the skin of their teeth. When they came out not only did their clothes not get burned, they did not even smell burnt, not one hair was singed. Glory to God!! When I am exposed to this fire of worldly troubles, and I feel like God is silent, I must choose to believe his promise that He is there with me. I may feel as though when God is through, I will be a mess and have black soot all over me. My hair may be singed to the roots. When I am tired and weary, it is then, I must remember that God promises that when he has accomplished what He needs to, He will run to me, pick me up and say that is enough dear child. He will then polish me off and present me as pure gold with no hint of the fire that has refined me. So if you are stuck in one of those days, weeks, or years, this is His promise to you and me, Cling to it today.

Daniel 3:27 "And the princes, governers, and captains, and the kings counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them."
I Peter 1:7 "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."